e-344 (Post-secondary education)
- Keywords
- 8545-421-91-01 Government Response to petitions concerning post-secondary education
- Aboriginal peoples
- Colleges and universities
- Post-Secondary Student Support Program
Original language of petition: English
Petition to the Government of Canada
- The Post-Secondary Student Support Program provides financial support to First Nations and Inuit college and university students;
- Annual funding increases to the PSSSP have been capped at 2% since 1996;
- Indigenous youth are the fastest growing demographic in Canada;
- Thousands of Indigenous learners are denied support every year due to a funding shortfall;
- In August 2015, Justin Trudeau made a promise to invest $50 million per year in the PSSSP;
- The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms post-secondary education as a right of Indigenous people;
- Canada endorsed the UNDRIP in 2012;
- The TRC calls on the federal government to “provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education”;
- In December 2015, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to take immediate action on all TRC recommendations;
- In April 2016, the Supreme Court ruled the federal government has a constitutional responsibility to Métis and First Nations people without registered Indian status, including the delivery of social programs and services;
- Educational attainment levels among Indigenous peoples remain significantly lower than non-Indigenous peoples;
- The failure of successive federal governments in upholding its responsibility for Indigenous peoples’ education has left a gap in quality of life; and
- In the 2016 federal budget, Prime Minister Trudeau failed to deliver on his commitment to invest $50 million per year in the PSSSP and instead invested no new funding in the PSSSP.
- Open for signature
- May 10, 2016, at 12:55 p.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- September 7, 2016, at 12:55 p.m. (EDT)
- Presented to the House of Commons
-
Charlie Angus
(Timmins—James Bay)
October 20, 2016 (Petition No. 421-00786) - Government response tabled
- December 5, 2016